1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in an udder protector to be fitted to an ankle of a hind leg of a cow for preventing the hind leg from stamping on the udder and injuring the udder.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Udders of cows are well developed as a result of artificial improvements and they hang down between the two hind legs. Accordingly, when a cow lies down, the udder is kept in the state embraced by both the hind legs, and when the cow stands up, the udders, especially the nipple portions, are often tred on or stamped on by the calcaria and hooves of the hind legs, and they are often injured. These wounds are very miserable and are not readily curable, and the milk-secreting activity is remarkably reduced by these wounds and in serious cases, the injured cows become quite valueless, resulting in a great loss to dairy farmers.
Various udder protectors for preventing the hind legs from treding on the udders and injuring them in cows have been proposed.
For example, there can be mentioned a net protector which is hung down from the back of a cow like a hammock so that the udders of the cows are wrapped in and supported by this net protector, and a gaiter-like protector is attached around an ankle of a hind leg of the cow. Each of these known protectors, however, has a complicated structure and the mounting and dismounting operations are very troublesome.
In view of such state of the art, I previously proposed an udder protector which has a very simple structure and the mounting and dismounting operations of which can be performed very easily.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, this previously proposed udder protector which is composed of a relatively rigid and thick cellular synthetic resin material having a good restoring elasticity has a doughnut-like annular shape having a relatively broad width, and the width portion of the annular protector is cut at one part in the radial direction. When this protector is actually employed, the protector is expanded from this cut part against the elasticity of the protector-constituting material and the so-called ankle portion of a hind leg of a dairy cow between calcar (a) and hoof (b) is inserted from the side into a clearance formed between the cut ends of the protector by expansion thereof as shown in FIG. 1, whereby the calcar (a) and hoof (b) are prevented from treding on and stamping down the udder (c). When the cow which has lain down as shown in FIG. 3 is going to stand up with the protector as a fulcrum, the heavy weight of the cow is imposed as a load on the protector and the protector is bent as shown in the drawings. If the acting point of the load of the cow is located on the cut and separated part of the protector, the end faces of the cut and separated part which are usually pressed to each other are opened and separated from each other. In such case, accordingly, there is the risk that the ankle is allowed to become released from the protector.
This disadvantage is due to the fact that the protector is composed of an elastic material and has a cut and separated part.